Sexual assault of 3-year-old reported at Marshfield homeless shelter before it closed

The Marshfield Police Department is investigating a report of a sexual assault of a toddler at the Frederic Ozanam Transitional Shelter before it closed Dec. 5.
Melissa Siegler/ USA TODAY NETWORK - Wisconsin

MARSHFIELD - Police are investigating a report that a minor staying at a Marshfield homeless shelter sexually assaulted a toddler there shortly before its operators decided to shut down the facility.

Tabera Israel, a former resident of the Frederic Ozanam Transitional Shelter, told reporters from USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin this week that she was babysitting the girl Oct. 30 when she witnessed a juvenile male resident assaulting the girl.

Less than a week after the incident was reported to Marshfield police, officials from St. Vincent de Paul said they would close the shelter on Dec. 5 because of financial and staff problems.

Israel said she thought something was off when she saw the girl sitting on the boy’s lap in the shelter’s dining room. Israel rose from where she was sitting and said she found the boy touching the girl under her diaper beneath the table while whispering inappropriate things in her ear.

Israel said she immediately informed a shelter employee about the incident, as well as the girl's parents, who filed a report with the Marshfield Police Department. Detective Lt. Darren Larson said the incident is still under investigation but did not comment further.

This is not the first accusation made against the male resident, who had lived at the shelter for nearly a year, according to Israel. She said he also was caught coming out of a closet with a different 3-year-old girl a few weeks prior to the Oct. 30 incident.

Israel said there was a "fear factor" about coming forward to shelter employees — and she said that a day after the assault report, a staff member slid a note under her door informing her that she was being kicked out of the shelter and had to leave within 48 hours.

At the time the shelter's closure was announced, St. Vincent de Paul Board Vice President Tom Youngwith said it was because they could not afford to keep the facility open and could not create a “cohesive workforce.”

Youngwith did say that three different "qualified" organizations are considering maintaining the building as a transitional center.

Shelter Director Tammy Schueller said that she believes the board members decided to close the shelter because they did not want to dedicate money toward maintaining it and because they didn't know how to handle the sexual assault allegations.

Youngwith said in an interview this week with a USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin reporter that the board was not aware of the abuse incident, but an assault should be reported immediately to police. The board did acknowledge domestic and drug abuse issues at the shelter. He also said that all but one of the families living in the residence had been placed into housing.

The shelter was developed to provide families with temporary housing, transportation, food, job skill training, clothing, assistance in goal-setting for permanent housing and medical attention for people in need.

The transitional home has served more than 100 families — more than 500 adults and children — since it opened in early 2014. With a yearly budget of about $175,000, the shelter was able to house up to 14 families at a time and at full capacity would house 82 people. The shelter was funded by hundreds of local businesses and community donors.

As of Tuesday, seven families had been relocated with assistance from North Central Community Action Program in Marshfield. One family had plans to relocate on Wednesday and one family did not reach out to the program for assistance, according to Community Action Program Executive Director Diane Sennholz.